The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio State Legislature. A new legislative session is assembled every two years on the first Monday in January of the odd-numbered years. However, since there is no limit on the days the General Assembly may convene, it can respond immediately to emergency situations. While in session, the House generally meets Tuesday through Thursday. Committee meetings may be held any time before or after floor sessions. Both are open to the public. 99 members make up the Ohio State House of Representatives, serving terms of two years, with a limit of four consecutive terms.[1] Each member represents an average of 116,530 residents, as of the 2010 Census.[2] After the 2000 Census, each member represented approximately 116,530 residents.[3]

Sessions

Article II of the Ohio Constitution establishes when the Ohio General Assembly, of which the House of Representatives is a part, is to meet. Section 8 of Article II states that the regular session is to convene on the first Monday in January of each year, or the following day if that Monday is a legal holiday.

Section 8 also contains rules for convening special sessions of the General Assembly. It empowers the Governor of Ohio or the presiding officers of the General Assembly to convene a special session. For the presiding officers to convene the session, they must act jointly.

2014

In 2014, the General Assembly will be in session from January 7 through December 31.

Major issues

Major issues during the 2014 legislative session include raising taxes on gas and oil drilling, reforming Ohio’s municipal income tax system, changing the state's election and concealed-weapons laws, and reforming Medicaid and other health-care issues. Both chambers are also looking to reduce the state's energy efficiency and renewable energy mandates.[4]

2013

In 2013, the General Assembly was in session from January 7 to December 31.

Major issues

Keith Faber (R) took over as President of the Senate and the main focus of the legislature was adopting a new biennial state budget. Additionally, lawmakers addressed casino regulation, state collective-bargaining laws, Medicare expansion, and prison overcrowding.[5]

2000

Elections for the office of Ohio's House of Representatives consisted of a primary election date of March 21, 2000, and a general election on November 7, 2000. All 99 seats were up for election.

During the 2000 election, the total contributions to the 286 House candidates was $18,259,570. The top 10 contributors were: [15]

2000 Donors, Ohio House of Representatives

Donor

Amount

Ohio House Republican Campaign Cmte

$1,671,504

Ohio Republican Party

$1,267,418

Ohio Democratic Party

$553,046

House Democratic Caucus Fund Of Ohio

$324,663

Ohio Education Association

$226,528

Ohio Association of Realtors

$225,575

Ohio State Auto Workers

$141,810

Wholesale Beer & Wine Association of Ohio

$129,738

Ohio Society of CPAS

$119,977

Firstenergy Corp

$104,850

Qualifications

Article 2, Section 3 of the Ohio Constitution states: Senators and representatives shall have resided in their respective districts one year next preceding their election, unless they shall have been absent on the public business of the United States, or of this state.

Article 2, Section 5 of the Ohio Constitution states: No person hereafter convicted of an embezzlement of the public funds, shall hold any office in this state; nor shall any person, holding public money for disbursement, or otherwise, have a seat in the General Assembly, until he shall have accounted for, and paid such money into the treasury.

Vacancies

If there is a vacancy in the house, the seat must be filled by an election conducted by House members. Also, the election can only be conducted by the same members of the political party that hold the seat. A simple majority vote is needed in order to approve a replacement.[16]

Redistricting

The Ohio Apportionment Board is responsible for legislative redistricting. It is comprised of 5 members: the Governor, State Auditor, Secretary of State, and two members selected by the legislative leaders of the two major parties.

2010 census

Ohio received its 2010 local census data in early March 2011. Although the state population showed net growth, Ohio's large cities recorded significant population loss. Of the state's five largest cities only Columbus showed population growth. Cleveland suffered the sharpest decline, losing 17.1% of its population.[17]

The Ohio Legislative Task Force on Redistricting, Reapportionment, and Demographic Research assisted the General Assembly and Ohio Apportionment Board in drafting new maps. Four of the five members of the Board were Republicans. By a vote of 4-1 they gave final approval to a new map on September 28, 2011 - two days after posting them online. The lone Democrat on the Board, Rep. Armond Budish, opposed the map, saying it "quarantines" Democrats in 1/3 of the legislative districts.[18]

On January 4, 2012, Democrats filed suit against the legislative maps, saying they violated constitutional requirements for compactness and preservation of county and municipal boundaries. The Ohio Supreme Court took the case but, due to the time factor, ruled the new maps would stand for the 2012 elections, with possible revisions to apply starting in 2014.[19]

When sworn in

Leadership

The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the body and is elected by all members. Duties of the Speaker include appointing the members and chairpersons of all committees, directing the legislative procedures, and presiding over daily House sessions. In the absence of the Speaker, the Speaker Pro Tempore assumes the duties of the office.[21]

History

Partisan balance 1992-2013

From 1992-2013, the Republican Party was the majority in the Ohio State House of Representatives for 17 years while the Democrats were the majority for five years. Ohio was under Republican trifectas for the final three years of the study period.

Across the country, there were 577 Democratic and 483 Republican State Houses of Representatives from 1992 to 2013.

Over the course of the 22-year study, state governments became increasingly more partisan. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 of the 49 states with partisan legislatures had single-party trifectas and 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states have divided governments, while single-party trifectas held sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years studied.

SQLI and partisanship

The chart below depicts the partisanship of the Ohio state government and the state's SQLI ranking for the years studied. For the SQLI, the states were ranked from 1-50, with 1 being the best and 50 the worst. Ohio had Republican trifectas during most of the years of the study, from 1995-2006 and from 2011-2013. The state's highest SQLI ranking, finishing 20th, occurred in 1997 during a Republican trifecta. Its lowest ranking, finishing 38th, occurred from 2008-2010 during a divided government.

Chart displaying the partisanship of Ohio government from 1992-2013 and the State Quality of Life Index (SQLI).